Quote:
Originally Posted by stovt001
That is the finest example of journalism I've seen in a long time. This is a huge problem in the US. It seems to me that we have stopped seeing driving as a privilege and a skill, and rather see it as a right. Essentially, if you meet the age requirement and aren't blind, the DMV will license you. It means more revenue in the form of fees, so they'll license anyone they can. The same goes for traffic laws and enforcement. Most of the laws have no real intent of keeping traffic moving safely and efficiently. They're just designed to maximize revenue. Evidence: the new California "hands free phone" law.
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This is high-quality writing without any doubt.
I am disgusted that the DMV is part of the Department of Revenue. The is no reason to associate driving with state funds. It should be a bonus to the state if it can appropriate more funds each year due to traffic violations. The state should assume that crime occurs but shouldn't consider it an automatic part of the budget. This is clearly the case at the end of the month when cops are suddenly abundant and seen taking over roadsides with flashing lights and people receiving tickets.
Moreover, I also agree with what you said about not intending to keep traffic safely moving. There's this road in Missouri on the classic Route 66, Manchester Road. In Wildwood, this road is 2 lanes. Near the intersection of Highway 109, Manchester used to be 45, but the speed has been reduced to 35 between Highway 100 and Highway 109. The residential areas that branch off of Manchester are all 25 despite having wide lanes and clear visibility; normally, such roads would be 35 in Missouri. As a result, people get ticketed while driving safely, and cops in this particular area will ticket for 5 over the speed limit. There are roads like these everywhere, and they would have safer drivers if all of the drivers' attentions were on the road and not the speedometer. I can't tell you how many times I've driven on Manchester and I can't tell you how many people nearly run into one another because someone looked down and saw that they were driving too fast. This is dangerous because traffic flows better when people are looking at the road.
I'm not saying that police officers shouldn't ticket people for driving faster than the speed limit. I am saying that speed limits should be raised and that people who don't want to drive 80 on the highway should get as far right as appropriate for their velocities.
I don't want to get TAG UR IT mad, so I'm going to stop now.
